highest blessing 2

Sutta Nipāta 258, 260

To live in a suitable place,
To have done good deeds in the past,
And having one’s own proper goal.
—This is the highest of blessings.

What is a proper goal?

I've often done what I thought I should do or what ought to be done. These choices have sometimes led to entrapment within my own creations - all done with good intentions, but also not necessarily kind to my self. And maybe not that useful to others.

Simple things are really so beautiful - and satisfying.

practicing high blessing 1

Sutta Nipāta: the Maṅgla Sutta  258, 259

Many gods and many humans
Have thought a lot about blessings,
Wishing for profound well-being.
—Tell us the highest of blessings;

Not consorting with the foolish,
Consorting only with the wise,
And honoring the honorable.
—This is the highest of blessings.

Comment:

The basics of a good life begin with knowing what and who to pay attention to.
Who are the wise and the honorable?
Am I a good companion? Wise? Honorable?

The Buddha advised good companions, kindness to all, of course. But we need to make careful selection of who we 'live' with. Every interaction matters. Our minds are highly impressionable, taking in whatever is around us before we have even a chance to decide if we will be exposed. In fact, the most powerful impacts are usually unnoticed, powerful because they are unnoticed. With attention we can choose what to foster and what to dismiss.  We are not as separate as we think we are, but we can tip the balance toward wise and honorable by making choices about what influences we intentionally foster.

Here and Now

Commentary by Andy Olendzki on the Words of the Buddha

The direct experiencing of nibbāna. 

Here the text is stating very plainly that insight meditation practice is capable of leading the practitioner to experiencing awakening in this lifetime. At this stage of the Buddhist tradition this was not a far-off goal, as it becomes later on, but was something accessible to anyone who practiced diligently and was willing to make the necessary commitment. Many people were said to have experienced nibbāna during the Buddha’s lifetime. ~ Andy Olendzki

Words of the Buddha: Middle Length Discourses (Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta) Majjhima 10

This is a direct path
for the purification of beings,
for the overcoming of sorrow and despair,
for the going to rest of suffering and sadness,
for the accomplishment of the method,
for the direct experiencing of nibbāna,
that is, the four establishments of mindfulness.

Here a person abides
observing body as body…
observing feeling as feeling…
observing mind as mind…
observing mental objects as mental objects…
ardent, fully aware, and mindful,
leading away worldly yearning and sadness.


Here, a person who has
gone to the forest, or
gone to the root of a tree, or
gone to an empty place,
sits down,
and having folded the legs around the ankles,
and set the body erect,
one establishes the presence of mindfulness.